


born under the same moon

by MollyRenata



Series: the sun, the moon, the fool and the lovers [5]
Category: Persona 4
Genre: Bonding, Developing Relationship, Gen, Mentions of Violence, the polyship is mentioned but it isn't important here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:40:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26874562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MollyRenata/pseuds/MollyRenata
Summary: Sho and Labrys have a few important things in common.
Relationships: Minazuki Sho & Labrys, Minazuki Sho/Narukami Yu/Kujikawa Rise
Series: the sun, the moon, the fool and the lovers [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937416
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	born under the same moon

**Author's Note:**

> Some more fluff related to "break out of your head". This takes place after the epilogue.

* * *

A riverbank seemed like an odd place to meet with a robot, but Labrys had asked Sho to speak with her at the Samegawa. He didn't have the first clue what had gotten into her head - he never did - but he obliged anyway, curious as to what she had to say.

It was early afternoon, and the day was even hotter than usual. For a machine that was susceptible to overheating, such weather could have been dangerous, and yet Labrys didn't seem bothered by it; instead, she looked _distracted,_ her artificial eyes watching the river's flow as she clasped her arm with her hand.

...What was her deal, anyway? Ever since Sho arrived in Inaba, Labrys had been trying to catch his attention, and then she clammed up every time she succeeded in doing so. It was _really_ starting to grate on his nerves, and he hoped that this seemingly pointless meeting would answer the question once and for all - _if_ she spoke up, of course, which she didn't seem to be doing. _Again._

"Hey, what's up?" Sho decided to break the silence, his patience running thin. "You wanted to talk to me, right? So... why aren't you talking?"

"Oh, uh... _sorry._ " Labrys looked embarrassed, her gaze faltering as she tried to look up at him. "I just..." She made a displeased noise. "Sheesh, why's this so hard to say? I mean, it ain't like you're a _bad guy_ or anythin' anymore..."

Sho quirked an eyebrow at her, even more confused now. "The hell are you on about? _Of course_ I'm not a bad guy anymore." He recalled his current mission, and the violence it entailed - he _had_ killed a few people in the process of rooting out the Kirijo Group's dark elements, though he _tried_ to avoid it whenever possible. "... _Mostly._ "

" _Mostly?_ " Labrys repeated that part, her expression becoming curious. "Is there somethin' you ain't tellin' us?"

"Dammit, that's not-" Sho struggled to divert the subject - he hadn't intended to let _that_ slip. "This conversation isn't about _me!_ I wanna know what _your_ problem is!"

"Oh, alright." To his infinite relief, Labrys decided not to pursue that subject any further, and instead turned to her own introspection once again. "...It's just... _y'know._ I'm awake... because of you. Even if you were a real jerk about it, you still..."

That was... kind of true. If Sho hadn't broken Labrys out, the odds were that she would never have awakened, remaining as a nigh-useless piece of scrap metal in the hands of the Kirijo Group. Then again, he had his other half and - he _still_ hated to think of that thing - Hi-no-Kagutsuchi to thank for it, so it wasn't like he'd done it on his own.

Now that he thought about it, he never had been _truly_ alone, had he?

"So what, are you gonna thank me for breaking you out?" Sho _almost_ hoped that the answer was yes - at least in that case, she'd found _something_ good about the whole ordeal. "Even if it was just to throw you in a TV and call you a test subject?"

"Yeah, actually." A slight smile crossed Labrys' face, and she finally managed to meet his gaze. "That's all under the bridge now, right? So... thanks. For wakin' me up, I mean. If ya hadn't done that, I would never have met my friends."

It was a _weird_ thing to thank him for, but Sho supposed that Labrys probably had a few bolts loose in that head of hers - a natural side effect of spending so much time in storage with no real maintenance, though he'd figured that the Kirijos would've tightened them back up by now. Apparently they _hadn't,_ and now Labrys was-

Well, kind of in the same boat as him, if he thought about it. He didn't exactly have _his_ head on straight, even though Yu and Rise had done their damnedest to try and screw it back into place. It was kind of funny, really; two broken Kirijo test subjects, coming together to bond after one of them had tried to set the other at odds...

The thought lit a now-familiar spark in Sho's heart. He didn't know exactly _where_ that feeling came from, but he was sure it had something to do with the contract he'd made three years ago - he still didn't understand that place or its residents, yet there was no denying that this sensation was a symbol of a deeper bond. Even now, when he felt it, he had the thought that he could take on anyone and _win._

"...You really _are_ just a stupid _toaster._ " Sho settled on what had become his favorite nickname for Labrys - she didn't seem offended by it, now. "I don't think I'll _ever_ get you."

"It's a good thing y'don't hafta," Labrys said, and she punctuated it with a laugh; then, her tone turned serious. "...By the way... don't worry too much about leavin' a mess behind. We do that too, sometimes... Mitsuru-san tries to avoid it, but..."

Now, _that_ was an interesting revelation. Sho had assumed that the Shadow Operatives avoided killing at all costs, no matter the situation - but Labrys' words indicated otherwise, and that fact made him just a little bit less ashamed of the blood he'd spilled. In the end, it was a natural consequence of dealing with their shared enemy, and knowing that the executioner _truly_ lived up to her title was... not as surprising as it felt like it should have been.

"It's one more mess for you guys to clean up," Sho pointed out. "...I'm not part of your group, so doesn't that mean I'm still a criminal in your eyes?"

"Technically, yeah, but..." Labrys gave a half-shrug, and her smile broadened. "Long as you don't go and cause _too_ much trouble, we can sweep that under the rug. Don't be surprised if you get caught a few more times, though."

In truth, Sho thought it was interesting that Labrys hadn't tried to arrest him during his stay here; he knew that it was because she was off-duty, but from a more logical perspective, this would've been the _perfect_ time to bring him in. She could catch him off-guard with relative ease - and, as he'd experienced firsthand on a couple of occasions now, fighting the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons was no easy task, even when he was prepared.

"So what, you gonna drag me back kicking and screaming?" Sho barked out a laugh. "I've been locking you out, so I deserve to be _locked up,_ right?"

Labrys tilted her head at him, then broke out into a grin. "Nope, not this time. It'd be too much trouble to avoid using lethal force... and you'd put up one _hell_ of a fight if I tried. You're off the hook for now."

It came as somewhat of a relief that she didn't want to kill him. Given his history, she would be perfectly justified in using whatever means necessary to apprehend him, and yet if it meant a threat to his life, she would rather let him go free - an odd kindness, but seeing as he enjoyed being alive, he wasn't going to complain. A small, dark part of him wondered if the other Shadow Operatives shared her perspective... but that wasn't something to think about _now._

"Well, alright then." Sho couldn't resist a grin of his own. "But if I end up causing you trouble in the future, don't say I didn't warn ya."

Labrys didn't say anything in response, though she seemed a lot more comfortable than she had been before as she turned her attention back to the river's water. Looking at her like this, she really _did_ seem a lot more human than her artificial structure indicated; her mannerisms were different from those of her sister, and even with her limbs uncovered, it almost felt as though she could blend in without a problem.

Was this a side effect of her ability to muddle the senses of others, or...?

"...By the way." Sho adjusted his coat, and began to consider taking it off; even his heat tolerance had its limits. "Doesn't this heat bother you? Aren't you gonna melt or something?"

Labrys stared back at Sho for a moment, then burst into laughter; once she settled, she shook her head, still smiling. "Nah, this is nothin'. I'm built to withstand _way_ hotter temperatures than this." She gestured at his coat. "You aren't, though... how can ya stand wearin' that thing?"

"I guess I'm a freak of nature," Sho answered her, without missing a beat. "Heat's _never_ bothered me. I love it nice and _spicy._ "

"Spicy, eh?" Labrys looked as though a thought had crossed her mind. "Like spicy tofu?"

Sho blinked twice at her, then broke into his own fit of laughter. He really should've seen that coming, what with how she never passed up an opportunity to tease him; at the same time, _spicy tofu_ wasn't the _only_ reason he'd come here, and he thought to remind her of that fact.

"With a side of omelette rice," he retorted, grinning even broader. "Don't leave out the _best_ part!"

It took a moment for Labrys to understand what Sho had just said - and when she did, she started laughing again, unhindered by the human need to breathe. It was kind of a nice sight, if Sho was to be honest; he _liked_ seeing Labrys like this, unbothered by his presence and sharing stupid, embarrassing jokes with him.

In the future, he hoped that they would get more opportunities like this - that a certain ice queen would allow them to do so. Through their parallel yet opposing missions, the two of them had managed to forge a bond, connected by their mutual suffering at the hands of their enemy.

Maybe, with time, Labrys would come to accept Sho as her _brother._

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> I see the relationship between Sho and Labrys as more like siblings than anything. It... doesn't seem to be a common perspective, from what I've seen, but. *shrug*


End file.
